1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not exclusively to methods and apparatus for performing confidential transactions using untrusted computers.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various confidential transactions involving exchange of sensitive information may be performed over the Internet. Examples of these confidential transactions include online banking, credit card purchases, accessing confidential documents from an enterprise network, e-mail access, and so on. A user does not even have to perform online confidential transactions using his own computer. For example, a user can employ a U3 Smart™ USB flash drive to access the Internet using a web browser with his favorite bookmarks on another person's computer. Although a user can employ various protective measures, such as antivirus programs and the like, to secure his own computer, it is very difficult to secure other computers especially those that are shared by several people or publicly available. This forces some users to exclusively use their own computers to perform online confidential transactions, which is not an ideal solution as it does not take advantage of the mobility and instant access provided by computer networks, such as the Internet. While mobility is not much of an issue with regards to performing online confidential transactions, security remains a major problem.